Lesson #3: Sponsors
We Love Sponsors
Sponsors are part of what helps our events be extra awesome. Cities with sponsorships can have better food and better events. Finding and signing sponsors can be hard, but it is possible and we are here to help! A few key tips:
- Target brands and companies you know – leverage personal and professional connections (LinkedIn, Startup Grind team, your company/ startup, friends in marketing/sales)
- Target companies reaching startup founders, developers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and early adopters
- Find out WHO is the decision-maker and IF there is budget to spend. If no, don’t invest too much time
- Determine TIMING for sponsorship (how soon can they pay? deadline for decision-making? If NO now, ask again in X months / next quarter)
- Aim to secure sponsors for 3-6 months at a time, if they sponsor one event they won't see the ROI and then you've lost them
If the answer is NO, always ask for a lead / referral (who do you know?…)
Be sure to check out this 20min video to learn some excellent tips to help you get your very first sponsor: https://youtu.be/GjdHymlRGdc?t=25m53s
We don't have a set way for you to build your sponsorship packages because we know that each city has different needs. However, we do have plenty of best practices and templates available to help you out and inspire you. There are loads of sponsorship tips, templates and resources in our help library. Start with this article here: Sponsorship Packet and then feel free to check out the whole section when you have time, here: http://help.startupgrind.com/category/85-getting-sponsors